This book considers how the establishment and/or improvement of gender equality impacts on the social, economic, religious, cultural, environmental and political developments of human societies in Africa and its Diaspora. An interdisciplinary team of contributors examine the role of gender in development against the background of Africa's convoluted and arduous history of state formation, slavery, colonialism, post-independence, nation-building and poverty. Each chapter highlights and stimulates further discussion on the struggles that many African and African Diaspora societies grapple with in the perplexing issue of gender and development - concentrating on gains that have been made and the challenges yet to be surmounted.

This book considers how the establishment and/or improvement of gender equality impacts on the social, economic, religious, cultural, environmental and political developments of human societies in Africa and its Diaspora. An interdisciplinary team of contributors examine the role of gender in development against the background of Africa's convoluted and arduous history of state formation, slavery, colonialism, post-independence, nation-building and poverty. Each chapter highlights and stimulates further discussion on the struggles that many African and African Diaspora societies grapple with in the perplexing issue of gender and development - concentrating on gains that have been made and the challenges yet to be surmounted.

"Continental Complexities: A Multidisciplinary Introduction to Africa" is a practical introduction to African Studies. This collection provides contextualized information in order to educate, clarify, and illustrate the story of the continent.
The topics have been deliberately chosen to highlight issues that are currently relevant to discourse on Africa. These topics are also commonly covered in Introduction to Africa courses. They include:
- geology and geomorphology
- history
- religion
- social institutions
- gender relations
- literature, drama, theatre and music
- regional integration
"Continental Complexities" is unique in that the selected readings have been written by scholars with highly specialized expertise on their chosen topics and with years of teaching experience in the area. Additionally, many of the contributors have spent extensive amounts of time in Africa or are currently teaching their respective topics in courses at African universities.
Each of the fourteen chapters in the book is followed by a set of review questions and a detailed bibliography which cites all references. There are also suggestions for additional reading.
This multidisciplinary anthology offers deep insight into Africa and its people, leaving readers with a much greater understanding of the continent and its issues.
Ibigbolade Aderibigbe received his Ph.D. from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Currently he teaches African religion and the Religions of Africa in the Diaspora in the Department of Religion and African Studies at the University of Georgia, Athens. Previously, Dr. Aderibigbe taught at Lagos State University, Ojo, in Lagos, Nigeria, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Religion. His areas of interest and research are the philosophy of religion, African indigenous religion, and the religions of Africa in the diaspora. Dr. Aderibigbe has written and co-edited numerous books. His articles have appeared in refereed journals and his work has been included in edited volumes. For many years he served as the editor of "Religious Educator," the "Journal of Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions and Education." His latest book is "Abortion, Religious Belief and Medical Ethics: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives," published in April, 2011.
Akinloye Ojo is an associate professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Director of the African Studies Institute at the University of Georgia. His teaching and research focus stem from an interest in the socio-linguistic and socio-cultural situations of Africans on the African continent and African descendants in the diaspora. Dr. Ojo has written on Yoruba language and linguistics, applied linguistics and language pedagogy, and language, culture, and society. He has taught Yoruba language and culture courses to non-native speakers, as well as courses in linguistics, African studies, and comparative literature.

The study of African language pedagogy and use in the Diaspora was initiated in the 1960s as African countries attained independence from colonial powers. In the continent, the enthusiasm for the use of indigenous languages and scholarship has remained relatively moderate as scholars are conflicted in their loyalty to imperial languages. The attitude towards the use of African languages by African leaders has also hampered scholars' efforts to create and sustain the needed visibility for African languages around the world. Needless to say, the study of African languages is not only critical to the study of language theories but also important in changing Africa's overwhelming reliance on European languages to communicate with each other. The reliance has not only affected the politics of the continent but also its economic wellbeing. An analysis of the enormous developmental challenges facing the African continent will reveal that many of the economic, social, political and cultural challenges have major language components. It can actually be said that the challenges of development in Africa are either outright language challenges or are language- based. More significantly, at the social level in many parts of the continent, African languages are now perceived as inadequate means of communication. Language Pedagogy and Language Use in Africa discusses the importance of teaching and using of African languages in the African continent and beyond and provides illustrations of both their direct and indirect use a result of historical and contemporary contacts, language planning policies and pedagogical concerns. The book contributes to the on-going discussion on the pedagogy, promotion, and use of African languages both on the continent and in the Diaspora. _______________ Dr. Lioba Moshi is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of African of African Languages Program at the University of Georgia, USA. She has done research on language pedagogy and teaching and is the recipient of a distinguished University Professorship service award at UGA and a distinguished teaching award from UCLA. She teaches linguistics and Swahili in the US and has also taught Swahili in Tanzania and England. She is the author of a number of publications, including "Democracy and Culture: an African Perspective (co-edited)," The Pedagogy of African Languages: An Emerging Field," "Mazoezi ya Kiswahili, Kitabu cha Wanafunzi wa Mwaka wa Kwanza (Swahili exercises, a workbook for first year students)" and "Tuimarishe Kiswahili Chetu." She has also developed a series of videos and online teaching material to help students learn the Swahili language and culture. Dr. Akinloye Ojo is an assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the African Studies Institute at the University of Georgia. He teaches Yoruba language and culture as well as courses in African Studies. He has published articles on African language pedagogy and programming, Yoruba language acquisition, Yoruba onomastics, and the issues of language, culture and society in Africa. His co-edited book, "Ilo-Ede ati Eda Ede Yoruba" (Yoruba Linguistics and Language Use) was published in 2005 by the Africa World Press, New Jersey. His collection of poems, In Flight, was published by Kraft Books, Nigeria in 2000.

Africa's diversity is best illustrated linguistically. Thousands of endogenous and exogenous languages are linked to and central to the identity and reality of Africans. Language is a vital lens for analyzing these multifaceted challenges in Africa, where deeper understanding of entire linguistic landscape is germane to understanding socio-political and cultural systems. Concentrating on instrumental and emblematic functions of language in Africa, Language, Society, and Empowerment in Africa and its Diaspora argues for the critical value of African languages beyond functionality into philosophical consideration of their importance for African unity and advancement. Akinloye Ojo calls for the development and empowerment of African languages to serve in various domains, including the support of basic literacy and daily survival of their users. Ojo propagates ways to empower African languages for African socio-cultural and economic development in the 21st century. The author productively engages works by linguists and language pedagogues to provide an ardent case for the empowerment of African languages in the renewed era of globalization, the internet, and an emergent Global Africa. Ojo posits and accentuates some of the notable modalities for empowering African languages in specialized domains for national and continental development.

Africans and Globalization: Linguistic, Literary, and Technological Contents and Discontents considers the substance and dissatisfactions of globalization on Africa and its Diaspora. Although variously framed across disciplines, globalization has generally entailed non-milieu bound interactions, which alters the existence of its participants. The concerns about the impact of globalization have been raised in relation to Africa and have related to the helpful and deleterious effects. Increasingly, industrialization (without consideration of environmental impacts) and westernization (including erosion of indigenous values) are perceived as synonymous with globalization. This multidisciplinary collection contends that in theory, globalization linked Africa with the world through trade and information sharing, thereby increasing development. This collection provides reflections based on contemporary research within the linguistic, literary, and technological areas of study. It illustrates that globalization is not a single process but rather a complex set of processes that seemingly operate in an oppositional manner. The collected works make for exciting appraisal as they highlight some of the contents and discontents of globalization across multiple areas of human endeavor in Africa and its diaspora.

This edited collection provides a window into Africa's diversity. A wide-ranging body of authors offers a valuable glimpse into the challenges and opportunities presented by globalization to the youth in Africa and its diaspora, while issuing a stern call for action to local governments to act now and tap into the energy of Africa's burgeoning youth population. In doing so, the authors expand extant literature on the continent's coping with globalization in the context of young people in various African nations. Featured in the collection are views on education, language, agriculture, sport and technology, deeply interwoven into the schooling, behavior, and health of youth. Specifically, these practices are found in both formal and non-formal education, agricultural production, and food nutrition, computer technology, and sport's amelioration of health issues, throughout Africa.